North Dakota Plumbing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
North Dakota employers buy plumbing workers comp from the state fund. The 2026 base rate for class 5183 (Plumbing - Heating - Sheet Metal) is $2.00 per $100 of payroll, before your experience modifier.
The state fund sets one base rate per class; your experience modifier moves it up or down. Source.
North Dakota class code for plumbing
- 5183: Plumbing - Heating - Sheet Metal
Monopolistic state fund with its own manual of about 140 rate classes; several numbers echo NCCI codes but scopes are broader (for example 5183 covers plumbing, HVAC and sheet metal together, and roofing is 5545 hot process or 5410 cold process).
Plumbing work involves back strain, cuts, burns from soldering and hot water, and work in crawl spaces and other confined spaces.
What comp costs per plumber in North Dakota
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,620 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on payrolls in North Dakota (May 2025), the 46th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $30.56 an hour, in line with the US median of $30.67.
This trade is a bigger part of the North Dakota job market than it is nationally: plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters hold 1.3 times their national share of jobs there.
At the North Dakota state fund's 2026 base rate of $2.00 per $100 of payroll for class 5183, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.61 for every hour worked, or $1,271 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,543 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. North Dakota pay runs from $21.89 an hour at the 10th percentile to $40.17 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.44 an hour on a new hire and $0.80 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in North Dakota
- Coverage required: Any employee (coverage in force before work begins)
- Owners and sole proprietors: Not required to cover self; optional personal coverage through WSI
- State fund: Monopolistic; coverage only from Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI), no private carriers or self-insurance
- Waiting period: 5 days
- Penalty for going without: Up to $10,000 plus $100 per day, cease-and-desist orders, and liability for claim costs during the lapse
North Dakota is one of only four monopolistic states, and it allows neither private carriers nor self-insurance, only WSI.
What moves a plumbing comp bill
- Plumbing rates sit in the middle of the construction classes; the swing comes from your experience mod. Trench and excavation injuries are the costly claims, so trench-safety training pays back quickly.
- Some states split residential and commercial plumbing into different classes. If you do both, make sure the payroll for each is recorded so the cheaper work is not rated at the higher class.
- Apprentices carry the same class rate as journeymen, but their lower wages mean less premium per hour. Your payroll mix matters as much as the rate.
- Uninsured subs (excavators, drywall patchers) get added to your payroll at audit unless you collect certificates before they start.